Yellow tang showing redness, breathing fast

[kenbennedy]

I hav seen a variety of recommended medications to possibly treat what appears to be a bacterial issue in yellow tangs, but want to check here before acting due to my limited experience. Unfortunately I do not have any medications on hand so will have to get something from LFS or overnight from Amazon, but in the meantime he is eating well, though he goes for nori the most. As I mentioned, my tang is showing some redness along his anal fin, dorsal fin, and caudal fin. He is also breathing quickly. I have not noticed any issues with other tank inhabitants (fish or inverts), and I first noticed the discoloration and breathing today. I have a video from a week ago (#3 in below) and cannot pick out any discoloration from then. All the fish arrived together on 2/15, pre-quarantined. I do not have a QT setup.

Other inhabitants are genicanthus melanospilos, gramma loreto, cirrhilabrus laboutei. I have not witnessed any obvious aggression, but am not in proximity most of the day.

Aquarium Parameters:
Aquarium type: mixed reef (only 2 frags), with fire shrimp, variety of snails and serpent star
Aquarium water volume: ~225gal (180gal DT + 25gal refugium, 20gal sump)
Filtration type: skimmer, refugium w seeded live rock (not from ocean), sand
Lighting: 2x reefbreeders photon 24”, running under 10% right now due to lack of coral
How long has the aquarium been established: live rock added 12/18/21, shrimp added 12/23/21, added Fritz the day before fish, which arrived 2/15/22
Digital image of the aquarium under white light: tank is 4’ x 3’ x 2’ tall

Water quality (be sure to indicate what measurement units you are using)
Temperature: 78F
pH: 8.0
Salinity / specific gravity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0 per Red Sea test kit
Nitrite not measured
Nitrate: 5ppm steady per Hanna
Phosphorus: .028ppm per Hanna
Copper not dosed or measured

In-depth information:
Have you lost any fish to this problem yet: no, nothing noticed in any other inhabitants
Are any invertebrates affected: no
Respiration rate of affected fish: 180-240 in gill beats per minutes
Are the affected fish still feeding: yes
What remedies have you tried so far: none, just discovered
Digital image of the fish with the health issue, taken under white light: note the redness is more apparent and saturated to my eye, I did my best with the cell phone image

Short video of the fish (linked YouTube videos work well)
Video 1 from today: Video 2 from today: Video 3 (from last week):
I feed nori daily, about 1/6 sheet which is consumed by the tang and angel, and a mix of dry foods 3x daily from my auto feeder (Avast reef jerky mixed with algae pellets and chroma boost), plus homemade frozen at dinner time (I soak the frozen with selcon about every other day). The tang picks at the mixed dry food pretty well and goes nuts for the nori. I occasionally swap in Nyos chromys/gold pods but he doesn’t care for those. He doesn’t usually go for algae pellets or chromaboost when offered plain. I haven’t done a major water change since the fish went in ~2 weeks ago, and FWIW the shipping water was higher salinity than the DT, so there was a drop in salinity when I released him. I have an ATO that keeps up with evaporation.

Should I go straight for antibiotics? Let it ride for a few days? I would really only like to medicate with something safe for the inverts and treat him in the DT if possible, or medicate foods. I have seen recommendations for metroplex, kanaplex, general cure and erythromycin. I could use some guidance from more experienced folks. Thanks in advance and I will keep an eye out for follow up questions. He is eating, so I did not tag this with emergency, but I will take fast action if needed. Thanks everyone

 

[fishguy242]

@Tamberav @threebuoys @nereefpat @vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal

 

[vetteguy53081]

It’s a bacterial issue due to poor water quality and/or diet
Kanaplex works real well on this. Ruby rally pro likely to work also but will work slower
For diet, feed at minimum:
LRS herbivore diet
Hikari veggie diet
Formula 2 flake and frozen
Mysis shrimp
Spirulina brine shrimp
Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract

add selcon to the foods periodically
Assure ammonia level not elevated. Change water if needed and add air stone to increase surface oxygen

 

[kenbennedy]

It’s a bacterial issue due to poor water quality and/or diet
Kanaplex works real well on this. Ruby rally pro likely to work also but will work slower
For diet, feed at minimum:
LRS herbivore diet
Hikari veggie diet
Formula 2 flake and frozen
Mysis shrimp
Spirulina brine shrimp
Nori seaweed basted with garlic extract

add selcon to the foods periodically
Assure ammonia level not elevated. Change water if needed and add air stone to increase surface oxygen

Thanks for the help! Kanaplex will be here tomorrow and I will start target feeding him with medicated food as soon as I get my hands on it. He looks about the same this morning as last night.

I want to address the root issue as best I can going forward. I was not previously concerned with the nutrient levels in my water, and I get no measurable ammonia with my red sea test kit. What indicators should I go by and what action should I take to improve "poor water quality?" I use RODI and am finishing off my IO salt, then have a few boxes of tropic marin salt for upcoming water changes. I also run a filter sock and change it out every few days to reduce particulates.

I will start mixing garlic with the food to help him get more varied food. Except for the hikari 2, all those foods are among what I feed the tank.

 

[Jekyl]

May not be due to your tank. Could be from shipping or previous homes.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thanks for the help! Kanaplex will be here tomorrow and I will start target feeding him with medicated food as soon as I get my hands on it. He looks about the same this morning as last night.

I want to address the root issue as best I can going forward. I was not previously concerned with the nutrient levels in my water, and I get no measurable ammonia with my red sea test kit. What indicators should I go by and what action should I take to improve "poor water quality?" I use RODI and am finishing off my IO salt, then have a few boxes of tropic marin salt for upcoming water changes. I also run a filter sock and change it out every few days to reduce particulates.

I will start mixing garlic with the food to help him get more varied food. Except for the hikari 2, all those foods are among what I feed the tank.

Assure ammonia and nitrate not elevated. Oh 8.1-8.3. Salinity 1.024-1.025 and temp 77-78
API test kits very unreliable

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I hav seen a variety of recommended medications to possibly treat what appears to be a bacterial issue in yellow tangs, but want to check here before acting due to my limited experience. Unfortunately I do not have any medications on hand so will have to get something from LFS or overnight from Amazon, but in the meantime he is eating well, though he goes for nori the most. As I mentioned, my tang is showing some redness along his anal fin, dorsal fin, and caudal fin. He is also breathing quickly. I have not noticed any issues with other tank inhabitants (fish or inverts), and I first noticed the discoloration and breathing today. I have a video from a week ago (#3 in below) and cannot pick out any discoloration from then. All the fish arrived together on 2/15, pre-quarantined. I do not have a QT setup.

Other inhabitants are genicanthus melanospilos, gramma loreto, cirrhilabrus laboutei. I have not witnessed any obvious aggression, but am not in proximity most of the day.

Aquarium Parameters:
Aquarium type: mixed reef (only 2 frags), with fire shrimp, variety of snails and serpent star
Aquarium water volume: ~225gal (180gal DT + 25gal refugium, 20gal sump)
Filtration type: skimmer, refugium w seeded live rock (not from ocean), sand
Lighting: 2x reefbreeders photon 24”, running under 10% right now due to lack of coral
How long has the aquarium been established: live rock added 12/18/21, shrimp added 12/23/21, added Fritz the day before fish, which arrived 2/15/22
Digital image of the aquarium under white light: tank is 4’ x 3’ x 2’ tall

Water quality (be sure to indicate what measurement units you are using)
Temperature: 78F
pH: 8.0
Salinity / specific gravity: 1.026
Ammonia: 0 per Red Sea test kit
Nitrite not measured
Nitrate: 5ppm steady per Hanna
Phosphorus: .028ppm per Hanna
Copper not dosed or measured

In-depth information:
Have you lost any fish to this problem yet: no, nothing noticed in any other inhabitants
Are any invertebrates affected: no
Respiration rate of affected fish: 180-240 in gill beats per minutes
Are the affected fish still feeding: yes
What remedies have you tried so far: none, just discovered
Digital image of the fish with the health issue, taken under white light: note the redness is more apparent and saturated to my eye, I did my best with the cell phone image

Short video of the fish (linked YouTube videos work well)
Video 1 from today: Video 2 from today: Video 3 (from last week):
I feed nori daily, about 1/6 sheet which is consumed by the tang and angel, and a mix of dry foods 3x daily from my auto feeder (Avast reef jerky mixed with algae pellets and chroma boost), plus homemade frozen at dinner time (I soak the frozen with selcon about every other day). The tang picks at the mixed dry food pretty well and goes nuts for the nori. I occasionally swap in Nyos chromys/gold pods but he doesn’t care for those. He doesn’t usually go for algae pellets or chromaboost when offered plain. I haven’t done a major water change since the fish went in ~2 weeks ago, and FWIW the shipping water was higher salinity than the DT, so there was a drop in salinity when I released him. I have an ATO that keeps up with evaporation.

Should I go straight for antibiotics? Let it ride for a few days? I would really only like to medicate with something safe for the inverts and treat him in the DT if possible, or medicate foods. I have seen recommendations for metroplex, kanaplex, general cure and erythromycin. I could use some guidance from more experienced folks. Thanks in advance and I will keep an eye out for follow up questions. He is eating, so I did not tag this with emergency, but I will take fast action if needed. Thanks everyone

Thanks for the in-depth post, the more data we have, the better.

Is this one of the Biota grow out tangs?
The YT is breathing too fast, but the Genicanthus looks pretty good.
The redness on the YT is pretty common to see after they are shipped, I don't always medicate when it is a minor case like this.

Despite what you will read/hear, medicated foods are NOT an option without a LOT of work on your part. Here is some information:

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods Jay Hemdal c. 2020 Oral medications are an excellent way to target internal diseases of fishes. Marine fish absorb aquarium water, so in certain cases, they “drink” enough medication from the water to effect a cure. However, freshwater fish actively export...

www.reef2reef.com

The rapid breathing can be caused by a number of issues, some treatable in a QT, some not treatable, and one that can be treated in the DT: Praziquantel for gill flukes.


Jay

 

[kenbennedy]

Thanks for the in-depth post, the more data we have, the better.

Is this one of the Biota grow out tangs?
The YT is breathing too fast, but the Genicanthus looks pretty good.
The redness on the YT is pretty common to see after they are shipped, I don't always medicate when it is a minor case like this.

Despite what you will read/hear, medicated foods are NOT an option without a LOT of work on your part. Here is some information:

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods Jay Hemdal c. 2020 Oral medications are an excellent way to target internal diseases of fishes. Marine fish absorb aquarium water, so in certain cases, they “drink” enough medication from the water to effect a cure. However, freshwater fish actively export...

www.reef2reef.com

The rapid breathing can be caused by a number of issues, some treatable in a QT, some not treatable, and one that can be treated in the DT: Praziquantel for gill flukes.


Jay

Thanks for the help - I don't know whether this was captive bred or wild caught, but he was much bigger than the captive bred ones I have seen posted here. I bought from a vendor that pre-quarantines fish. I'll read that article.

How do you recommend I determine if medication is needed?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks for the help - I don't know whether this was captive bred or wild caught, but he was much bigger than the captive bred ones I have seen posted here. I bought from a vendor that pre-quarantines fish. I'll read that article.

How do you recommend I determine if medication is needed?

That is tough - you can dose prazipro in your DT, but that will only be effective against flukes. I normally resist treating a mixed reef with antibiotic, and certainly you cannot dose ant-protozoal drugs in there. Both of those treatment would require moving the fish back to the QT for treatment.

Trouble is - despite all the information you've supplied, I don't see a clear course of action that doesn't require some wild guessing (sigh).

Jay

 

[kenbennedy]

That is tough - you can dose prazipro in your DT, but that will only be effective against flukes. I normally resist treating a mixed reef with antibiotic, and certainly you cannot dose ant-protozoal drugs in there. Both of those treatment would require moving the fish back to the QT for treatment.

Trouble is - despite all the information you've supplied, I don't see a clear course of action that doesn't require some wild guessing (sigh).

Jay

I appreciate the frank advice. I can muster up a QT for antibiotics or medication if that is the best course of action, but I sure hate guessing at what to do. Can kanaplex be administered via dipping? Would that be effective?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I appreciate the frank advice. I can muster up a QT for antibiotics or medication if that is the best course of action, but I sure hate guessing at what to do. Can kanaplex be administered via dipping? Would that be effective?

Antibiotics don't work as a "dip" (short term) but can sometimes be used as a "bath" (3 hours with a heater and air stone). Trouble is, the dose for a bath hasn't been worked out for most antibiotics. I generally use 3x the 24 hour dose for a three hour bath. Additionally, catching the fish up daily for baths can cause undue stress.

Jay

 

[kenbennedy]

OK, based on your description of the redness as mild, I will wait and see for a few days and look for any change in condition. If it gets to the point that he looks really bad I will plan to medicate in QT/hospital tank. Is Kanaplex adequate alone?

Will adding an airstone help him deal with the rapid breathing?

Edit to add clarifying question: are the rapid breathing and redness two separate issues that I need to monitor and treat separately, or if I medicate with antibiotics or general cure, would that address both?

 

[kenbennedy]

Bumping for minor update. No change in apparent redness or rapid breathing. Yesterday I added an airstone in the sump (just prior to baffle and return pumps) out of an abundance of caution.

Should I consider the rapid breathing and redness to be two separate issues that I need to monitor and treat separately, or if I medicate with antibiotics or general cure, would that address both?

Should I consider treating the DT with Ruby Rally Pro?

If all things are on the table to treat for rapid breathing (including separate hospital/QT treatments) what would the priority be?

Thanks again folks